SL:What kind of medicine do you practice and how will “Obama Care” affect your practice?

Dr. Chad Matthews: I’m a Doctor of Upper Cervical Chiropractic; Obama care is not exactly something I’m a fan of, but I’m not sure, yet, how it will affect me. I run a cash-like office, and accept out-of-network benefits only. There is no medication or surgery involved in what I do. It’s a completely natural means to healthcare. With people seeking alternatives more than ever before, my office stands to continue its growth. I think the biggest thing about Obama’s plan is not what it WILL do, but rather what it COULD have done…and that’s actually take a long, hard look at what “Health” care in this country has become…and that’s a system based on crisis…which is not HEALTH care at all.

SL:The White House recently released it’s “Health Insurance Consumer Protections”, basically a bulletin-list of eight “securities” the people will get from Obama Care’s “health insurance reform”. As a doctor, what do you think of these so called securities they’re guaranteeing people?

Dr. Chad: Well, I don’t think any of those 8 bullet points are a bad thing. I’m particularly interested in what is covered under the “preventitive care” bullet. If I do a screening and find that you have high blood sugar and diagnose you with diabetes…that’s NOT preventitive care because that means you already have it! Same goes with high blood pressure and cholesterol screenings. The medical field’s idea of “prevention” is actually just early detection, so that you can get on medications as quickly as possible. Medications, or better access to them, are not the answer to the healthcare crisis in this country.

SL: What do you think is the biggest problem with the healthcare industry today, and how would you go about reforming it?

Dr. Chad: Ultimately, the problem with Obama’s plan is that it is working toward making a brand of healthcare that already isn’t working more accessible. Those 8 bullet points would look much better in a plan that supports actual HEALTH care. To reform healthcare in the United States, we first need to identify what HEALTH is. Healthcare in this country is based on crisis and symptoms. In order to access that system, you have to have something wrong with you. Well, what’s the kind of insurance that you get for when you die, other people get money? Life insurance, right? Well, what is that more appropriately named? Death insurance! Well, our so-called health insurance is more appropriately named “disease” (or crisis) (or sick) care. The underlying philosophy behind modern medicine is called allopathy, which is defined by the medical dictionary as the treatment of disease by methods that produce the effect opposite of symptoms. Anyone notice a key word missing, there? How about HEALTH!

Health has many facets, but the most important 3 items are 1) proper function of the body 2) proper nutrition 3) proper amount of physical activity.

Our disease insurance, based on our disease care system, doesn’t cover any of the facets of health. You have to be in a state of physical or mental breakdown to access our current system.

With health properly defined, a system could be built. I’m not a politician, so I’ll let my like minded individuals with access to Congressional committees handle building that system.

SL:There’s a few different reform plans floating around Washington, all calling on government to do something. Is government too involved already?

Dr. Chad: Government is far too involved. Let’s now say that, from hear on out, the term healthcare operates by a definition similar to the one I outlined above (one that actually highlights what it takes to be healthy). Well, I would argue that healthcare is more of a priveledge than a right. Crisis care…emergency care…I would agree should be accessible to everyone. I shouldn’t have to pay to have an ER doctor keep me from the gates of death in the event that I have a car accident. It’s a right to live…and it’s the MD’s job to keep me from dying. But the doctors you’ll need to ensure that you are healthier? Your chiropractors, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, etc. that concentrate on the 3 main facets of health…these are folks that provide a professional service. If a system can be developed that gives people extensive coverage for those doctors, then I’d be willing to take it under consideration…but doctors should never have to base anything that they do based on insurance coverage…it should always be what is, in their opinion, best for the patient. That’s what they got their doctorates to be able to do…provide the best care that they see fit. I have a hard time seeing how any insurance plan, government sponsored or not, would allow doctors the freedom to do as they saw fit.

SL: Would a free-market be the best solution to the crisis, as opposed to bigger government?

Dr. Chad: Yes, IMO a free market is the best approach based on the above.

SL:We’ve heard propaganda from both sides, but what does Obama Care mean to both doctors and patients?

Dr. Chad: Obama care to patients: it means easier access to drugs and surgery. We rank 40th out of 40 industrialized nations surveyed in health statistics and yet we consume 80% of the entire world’s medications. I’m pretty sure easier access to that system is NOT the answer to the crisis. Adverse reactions to properly prescribed medications are the 3rd leading cause of death in United States, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. Other medical doctors and PhDs have come out and said that adverse reactions to medications account for up to 800,000 deaths per year…which would make the leading form of healthcare in the US the leading cause of death in the US. That’s scary. What’s even scarier is that most of you have probably never heard that statistic…that you have to have access to medical journals to see that kind of stuff. Crazy! What it also means to patients is that our taxes are going to go up…but that’s what the Democrats do. (Doctors note- interesting that the Obama camps answer to an economic recession was to cheapen the American dollar and raise taxes…brilliant!)

SL:Many try and paint doctors as greedy, claiming they like the system the way it is because it can mean a good payday. Exactly how frustrated are doctors, particularly in your field of medicine, with the current system?

Dr. Chad: Insurance is a joke in my field. Reimbursement is terrible. I try to deal with them as little as possible.

SL:Alternative medicines are routinely criminalized and demonized by the government, Big Pharma and some doctors. How beneficial can alternative medicine be and wouldn’t it help the system if the people were free to make their own decisions and seek out the care they want?

Dr. Chad: One of the leaders in alternative health is my field: chiropractic. But part of the reason that we get a bad rap is because those in our own profession have carved their little back and neck pain niche. Chiropractic was founded on the principle that the body was designed to heal itself. The brainstem and nerve system are responsible for keeping the body doing what it needs to do, when it needs to do it, and how it needs to do it. That’s how all your vital organs, muscles, etc. work. In my office, we see people with all kinds of conditions…from multiple sclerosis to migraines to diabetes to cerebral palsy to cancer. Your body functioning properly can be a powerful thing and help you overcome some crazy issues. More so than anything, though, the proper function of the body is essential to health. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise or how well you eat, if your body is not functioning properly i can’t get maximum benefit from the exercise and nutrition. Big Pharm is the biggest problem. Because so many people that seek natural, alternative routes get off their medications, Big Pharm views that as competition. MDs, more so in the past, looked at us as competition…

I want to thank my friend Dr. Chad Matthews for taking the time to do this little interview. Chad maintains a website, Atlas 4 Wellness @ http://www.atlas4wellness.com/. Be sure and check that out.

The two paragraphs below are copied from akrowne and his blog on the Campaign For Liberty website that was made the “Member Blog Spotlight” today. These are the closing paragraphs of the piece, you can read the entire thing by clicking here.

The session was in its final few minutes when the “big confrontation” happened. While the “critics” had been booing, cheering, and heckling Johnson and others from the floor the whole time (and the whole audience was certainly guilty of applausing and cheering out of turn), it was not until C4Ler Sean Mangieri bellowed out “where in the Constitution does it authorize you to do this?” that some sort of invisible line was crossed. Johnson began responding, fumbling a bogus justification that the “general welfare clause” gives the government authority to do anything, but apparently the order had been given. The police came over and tapped me on the shoulder, apparently thinking it was me who had made the remark; to which I said “I didn’t say anything.” Various people in the audience pointed to Sean, who was sitting next to me, and he was “tapped out” by the police. However, they returned anyway and told me I had to go as well and this was my “last chance”. When I protested again that I didn’t say anything, the reply was “it doesn’t matter, they want you out.”

Two other people we know were thrown out in this sweep as well, one of whom had just been “warned” not to shout any more comments, but was ejected without having said anything additional.

Altogether, I am very disappointed with what passes for “debate” in this country on pressing issues of national concern and relevance to our basic freedoms. It is obvious from this interaction that Johnson, like so many others in Congress, has made up his mind and is acting as part of the party machinery. It seems he expected only to get a “rubber stamp” from “friendlies” in the audience, and inasmuch as that did not happen, police were brought in to intimidate and eject. His comments about not being able to debate the final bill, and not being restricted by the Constitution, really do tell all.

Audio recording of the event below:

The bullshit continues in the so-called “Land of the Free”. For a country whose government was calling on the Iranian government to “listen to protesters” and “allow free speech” just a couple of months ago, we sure don’t like to follow that advice ourselves. Hopefully the people of this district in Georgia see to it that Mr. Johnson here is voted out of office during the elections. After all, someone who doesn’t know and understand the Constitution, can’t faithfully execute their duty and follow the oath that is taken.

This documentary about Ron Paul’s 2008 run for President and the Ron Paul Revolution is set to be released on DVD in mid-September. It looks fantastic, and I cannot wait to place an order and receive a copy of this. That whole run/campaign was quite special and fun, and this documentary looks like it will recapture that spirit and tell a wonderful story quite nicely. Even the seemingly little things about that time still stand out as nice memories, like gathering around the computer during the Moneybomb’s and watching the counter rise and rise and tossing in some money and hoping to see your name appear on the counter so you can take a screenshot. Good times.

I particularly enjoy this comment on the video from zzquanto: “Lawence should give himself﻿ more time to comment on and answer his own questions.”

Indeed, someone please teach this moron how to conduct an interview. That’s one of the worst interview segments I’ve seen in quite some time, probably since Ron Paul was interviewed on, coincidentally, The Ed Show. It’s not a partisan thing, Bill O’Reilly is guilty of the same tactics, but this one is just beyond laughable. To no ones surprise, Schiff was able to use the times he was allowed to speak to get common sense out there to oppose the nonsense that O’Donnell was spewing.

This represents everything wrong with mainstream media in this country. Please, quit trying to play “gotcha” and attempting smears, and just ask the guest questions and let him answer them, without showing your biasedness throughout the whole thing. And no one (well I guess I should say “very few”) would ever view Chris Dodd as a hero of anything. A criminal, sure. A hero, no.

On Thursday, Dr. Ron Paul appeared on CNN with his son Dr. Rand Paul to discuss health care “reform,” out of control deficit spending, risks of price inflation, and how they would grade the Obama Administration.